Serame Taukobong on where to next for Telkom
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Telkom is facing difficult times, but CEO Serame Taukobong has insisted the company “does not need a knight in shining armour” to come riding to its rescue.
In this TechCentral Show (TCS) interview with Taukobong, the Telkom boss provides his views on the interest received from a consortium that includes former CEO Sipho Maseko and Mauritius-based Axian Telecom, as well as MTN Group signalling that it, too, may still be interested in a deal.
MTN walked away from early stage talks with Telkom last year after the latter’s board agreed to entertain a rival offer from wireless broadband provider Rain, which had sought a merger with Telkom. But this week, during Telkom’s annual results presentation to. Investors, MTN issued a statement in which it said a deal makes sense for shareholders of both entities.
In the interview, at the JSE in Sandton, Taukobong answered several pressing questions:
• Without corporate action, can Telkom survive and thrive in the longer term?
• How supportive is government towards a partial or full sale of Telkom?
• How will market consolidation likely happen and can South Africa’s mobile market sustain four infrastructure competitors in Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Rain?
• Are the retrenchments at Telkom over, or is there still more pain to come?
• What’s the prognosis for capital expenditure at Telkom, and why did mobile spending outpace revenue growth?
• What’s hurting Telkom’s free cash flow (a negative R2.7-billion in the 2023 financial year), and what is management doing to address the problem?
• Does it still make sense for Telkom to own an IT services business?
• What are the plans to unlock shareholder value, especially in Gyro?
Don’t miss the discussion!
In this TechCentral Show (TCS) interview with Taukobong, the Telkom boss provides his views on the interest received from a consortium that includes former CEO Sipho Maseko and Mauritius-based Axian Telecom, as well as MTN Group signalling that it, too, may still be interested in a deal.
MTN walked away from early stage talks with Telkom last year after the latter’s board agreed to entertain a rival offer from wireless broadband provider Rain, which had sought a merger with Telkom. But this week, during Telkom’s annual results presentation to. Investors, MTN issued a statement in which it said a deal makes sense for shareholders of both entities.
In the interview, at the JSE in Sandton, Taukobong answered several pressing questions:
• Without corporate action, can Telkom survive and thrive in the longer term?
• How supportive is government towards a partial or full sale of Telkom?
• How will market consolidation likely happen and can South Africa’s mobile market sustain four infrastructure competitors in Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Rain?
• Are the retrenchments at Telkom over, or is there still more pain to come?
• What’s the prognosis for capital expenditure at Telkom, and why did mobile spending outpace revenue growth?
• What’s hurting Telkom’s free cash flow (a negative R2.7-billion in the 2023 financial year), and what is management doing to address the problem?
• Does it still make sense for Telkom to own an IT services business?
• What are the plans to unlock shareholder value, especially in Gyro?
Don’t miss the discussion!
